Heartworm is a low-res PS1 styled third person survival horror game that delves into human psychology, exploring the memories we keep and the ones we wish to forget.
Drawing inspiration from PS1 survival horror classics like Silent Hill, Dino Crisis and Resident Evil, Heartworm sees you delving into forgotten memories via a strange VHS tape you receive in the mail. The current build is a combat-free experience, with it more focused on creating a chilling atmosphere and dealing with psychological horrors than shooting monsters with guns.
Heartworm follows Sam, a young woman who suffers from insomnia, low-esteem, anxiety, depression, recurrent intrusive thoughts and obsessive-compulsive disorder – the majority of which seem to stem from traumatic events during her childhood. She’s been encouraged to look into exposure therapy (exposure to the anxiety source) and after placing the mysterious VHS tape in your video player it seems that’s exactly what she’s going to do – as she’s transported to a place that looks eerily familiar, like a hazy dream of a buried memory.
The demo build of Heartworm takes around 15 minutes to play through and does a great job of nailing the 90s survival horror vibe. There are no big scares, but it’s got a great sense of atmosphere and the narrative is very intriguing. By the end you’ll be dying to delve deeper into Sam’s VHS powered memories as it looks set to be a thought provoking and cerebral take on the classic survival genre. Highly recommended.
Check Out a Gameplay Video Here
Download Heartworm Alpha Demo Here (Windows & Mac)